Blunsdon Village Shop

Blunsdon Village Shop
Blunsdon is a village north of Swindon, right on the boundaries of Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. 
 
The last remaining purpose built shop in Blunsdon closed in 2002.  Local residents faced a several mile car or bus journey for even the most basic provisions.
 
Local resident Helen Griffiths thought that Blunsdon could copy the village of Hyde Heath in Buckinghamshire, where her sister lives.  Hyde Heath had lost its shop, but locals had re-opened one as a community enterprise and it was doing rather well.
 
Following a public meeting in Blunsdon, a working party was formed to explore the idea further.  The team were so dynamic, it was more a question of when than if!
 
The group raised cash through gifts and interest free loans and were awarded a Countryside Agency grant.
 
“We found it amazing at how much free help there was!” a member of the working party, Julie Allen, told us.  VIRSA steered us through the grant application.  “We needed advice about our legal structure and we had to write a business plan and received excellent advice from Co-operative Futures on  both.   Even our bank manager complimented us on our business plan!”
 
Planning permission was sought to site a portable building in the village hall car park, and on a cold January afternoon in 2003, the sad looking building was craned into position. 
 
“For the next two months, we almost rebuilt it!” laughs Ken Miller who masterminded the shop’s makeover.  Ken had been the village shop-keeper up until his retirement in 2000, so his wealth of experience came in handy when it came to knowing what to stock.
 
The shop opened in March 2003 and since then has become a focal point in the village.    “People are always amazed at how much space there is inside”, Manager Maggie Fisher told us.  “And we try to keep a good range of stock, and stick to household brands, so people know what they are buying”. 
 
There are now three paid members of staff, including Maggie, who also works out the rota with the 30 or so volunteers.   Maggie said “Normally, it’s a pretty consistent rota, although it can get tricky when it is school holidays.”  The paid staff have got extra responsibilities in the shop, such as opening up in the mornings, locking up and stock management.
 
Having a shop in the village has had an indirect benefit on the environment; Ken told us “When the old shop closed, you stopped seeing people walking around the village, and I think that’s because people had to get their car out to go for a paper or pint of milk.   And buying a pint of milk at a supermarket  costs more like £10 doesn’t it, as you can always find other things to buy!” 
 
Blunsdon Shop has never tried to compete with the various supermarkets that are all several miles away.   Instead, they introduced the ‘Take Five’ campaign, which is where they suggest that villagers cross 5 items from their weekly supermarket shopping list and buy these from Blunsdon shop instead.  
 
Throughout their three years of trading, Blunsdon Village Shop has hosted visits from several groups who would also like to set up a community run village store.  “Through Julie and Co-operative Futures, we have been happy to show off our shop and talk to them about what works well and what we might have done differently,” Maggie told us.  “We feel quite flattered actually”. 
 
Groups that have shared ideas with Blunsdon include All Cannings, Coley, Bradfield, Steeple Ashton and Urchfont and they have all have subsequently opened their own village shops.  
 
Earlier this year, Blunsdon Village Shop was awarded ‘Village Shop of the Year’ by Wiltshire Life Magazine.  “We are just so proud!  Four years ago, we had a dream and we never thought in a million years that we could achieve this!” Julie Allen said to us from inside the Village Shop.  Mr Fox is a regular customer and added “I haven’t been in Blunsdon very long, but I come to the shop everyday and everyone is so friendly.  I can’t imagine life in Blunsdon without our wonderful little shop.”
 
‘Take Five’ initiative boosts sales
 
Blunsdon is a village of 1000 or so houses lying to the north of Swindon.  In April 2002, the last privately-owned shop in the village closed and residents were forced to drive several miles to the nearest shop.
 
The community rallied together and, less than a year later, a shop was opened in a portacabin in the Village Hall car park.  Our little shop gives the impression of a ‘tardis,’ and has reinstated the heart of the village.  Now it is commonplace to see people walking around the village, on their way to or from the shop; exchanging news with people they meet and leaving the car in the garage.
 
In nearly three years of trading, our profits have been used to support local facilities.  Moreover, we employ three local people, which reduces the need for as many volunteers, although we couldn’t manage without them. The shop has given several local people a new source of income in that they sell their produce in the shop.
 
We will never be able to compete with a supermarket - that’s not our social purpose - and obviously recognise that villagers who can will continue to drive to a supermarket.  Our campaign to ‘Take Five’ invites villagers to cross just five items a week from their supermarket shopping list and buy those items from the village shop instead.  This has worked very well. 
 
In a perfect world, we would love to move into a bricks and mortar building and, by doing so, expand our range of products and services, but to do that we would need to raise a substantial amount of funding.